Typical Safari Day
Apr 12th, 2008, 02:53 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 160
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Typical Safari Day
I realize that every day is different but I wasn't sure how to word the title. We will be traveling to East Africa this July (90 days and counting!) with our 17 year old son. Am I correct that there are typically two safaris a day. The early safari from say 6:30am to 9:30am and an afternoon one at around 4:30pm. My question is what do you do between 9:30am and 4:30pm? I am sure we can just hang out, read, etc but that is a rather long period of time everyday to just hang out.
Apr 12th, 2008, 03:34 AM
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
your assumption regarding safari routine is corract - in most camps at least.
governors in the mara does 3 game drives a day:
early morning till 0900
morning after breafast till 1200
afternoon from 1600 till 1830
but most of the camps to the routine you describe.
but as you are travelling during the great migration when most probably crossings are going to take place you should make sure that the camp is going to do full day tours as the crossing only take place during the heat of the day means between 1300 and 1500.
to me it doesn't make sense at all to stay in camp from 0930 till 1600 duing just nothing.
another option is you book your own vehicle/driver guide. that costs a mere 250/300 US per day but that gives you the opportunity to do whatever you want.
or try www.kicheche.com. that camp is in the norok conservancy north of the mara reserve but does full day drives up to the guests liking.
if you opt for a simple camp which only does 2 short drives/day then you have plenty time to read, sleep ....
governors in the mara does 3 game drives a day:
early morning till 0900
morning after breafast till 1200
afternoon from 1600 till 1830
but most of the camps to the routine you describe.
but as you are travelling during the great migration when most probably crossings are going to take place you should make sure that the camp is going to do full day tours as the crossing only take place during the heat of the day means between 1300 and 1500.
to me it doesn't make sense at all to stay in camp from 0930 till 1600 duing just nothing.
another option is you book your own vehicle/driver guide. that costs a mere 250/300 US per day but that gives you the opportunity to do whatever you want.
or try www.kicheche.com. that camp is in the norok conservancy north of the mara reserve but does full day drives up to the guests liking.
if you opt for a simple camp which only does 2 short drives/day then you have plenty time to read, sleep ....
Apr 12th, 2008, 10:55 AM
#3
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 14,440
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Some helpful hints from Pippa. I liked the all day game drive suggestions. You should try to arrange at least one of those, even mentioning it to your agent before leaving home. They usually don't cost extra if you are just doing one or two.
Midday you can bird watch from camp/lodge. If you don't have your own bird book, there is probably one at the camp/lodge. Sometimes you can even arrange a guided birdwalk. The guided walk can include birds, medicinal plants, insects, etc. If you leave the camp/lodge grounds, just be sure your guide is qualified to do walks and is armed.
You may be able to visit a village during this time, for a charge. Or you can browse through items that will likely be available for sale right at the camp/lodge.
There are always scenic areas of some sort for resting and lounging and just looking out over a waterhole, open savanna, or a river. You may see game right from camp. Some places have blinds or hides where you can sit and watch. Right from camp or the lodge I've seen eles, water monitors, hippos, crocs, warthogs, lots of different antelope, wild dogs, and monkeys. Once I even requested delaying a game drive because the baboon action right in camp was so entertaining.
I use this time to delete photos and depending on what kind of photo equip you bring, you can edit, etc.
You can practice your conversational Swahili and animal names during this time. Guidebooks will have a couple of pages at the end that can be ripped out if you bought the book.
<b>This is when you update your journal so you can come back and make a report.</b>
It seems long on paper, but I have never found myself bored during this period and I travel all alone. I often don't even get the books read that I've taken along with me. Others have also complained that they have fallen way short of their reading goals. Most accommodations have libraries and picturesque areas to lounge. When it is time to leave I usually think to myself, "Darn, I never looked through that book or I never got the chance to sit in the gazebo or whatever."
Midday you can bird watch from camp/lodge. If you don't have your own bird book, there is probably one at the camp/lodge. Sometimes you can even arrange a guided birdwalk. The guided walk can include birds, medicinal plants, insects, etc. If you leave the camp/lodge grounds, just be sure your guide is qualified to do walks and is armed.
You may be able to visit a village during this time, for a charge. Or you can browse through items that will likely be available for sale right at the camp/lodge.
There are always scenic areas of some sort for resting and lounging and just looking out over a waterhole, open savanna, or a river. You may see game right from camp. Some places have blinds or hides where you can sit and watch. Right from camp or the lodge I've seen eles, water monitors, hippos, crocs, warthogs, lots of different antelope, wild dogs, and monkeys. Once I even requested delaying a game drive because the baboon action right in camp was so entertaining.
I use this time to delete photos and depending on what kind of photo equip you bring, you can edit, etc.
You can practice your conversational Swahili and animal names during this time. Guidebooks will have a couple of pages at the end that can be ripped out if you bought the book.
<b>This is when you update your journal so you can come back and make a report.</b>
It seems long on paper, but I have never found myself bored during this period and I travel all alone. I often don't even get the books read that I've taken along with me. Others have also complained that they have fallen way short of their reading goals. Most accommodations have libraries and picturesque areas to lounge. When it is time to leave I usually think to myself, "Darn, I never looked through that book or I never got the chance to sit in the gazebo or whatever."
Apr 12th, 2008, 02:11 PM
#4
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,309
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ibodem, in most places where I’ve been I’ve done a longer morning game drive from 6.30 until lunch and the afternoon drives have started earlier than 4.30. Though I think I got back to camp for breakfast in Samburu. It seemed a bit unnecessary, as the breakfast was far too heavy and too close to lunch. As Lynn says, there’re lots of things to do around camp and I could have stayed for months just hanging around at any camp where I’ve been. My problem is that I usually fall asleep when I sit down in a chair – even if there’s a family of elephants a couple of metres away - and that’s an awful waste of time.
Apr 13th, 2008, 03:27 AM
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 160
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks everyone for your comments. Arranging for longer game drives or a guided walk sound like great ideas (I am concerned about lack of exercise for the two weeks anyway). I knew that this was not really a problem, I just didn't know what people actually did. I recall before I took my first cruise that I thought I would be bored on the "at sea" days. Of course, we were never bored and didn't do half the things we planned. 89 days and counting...
